"Free payroll software" is a common search with an unsatisfying answer: none of the full-service providers whose prices we could read has a free plan, and several others quote their price only after a sales call. That does not mean payroll must cost much. The free parts exist; they are just on the government's side, and they leave the work with you. This page uses each provider's pricing page and IRS Publication 15, read on October 27, 2026.
For whom: an owner with a few employees, or only contractors, who wants to spend as little as possible. Not for: someone comparing every paid plan; see payroll software prices.
What is free, and what it leaves you to do
| Free tool | What it does | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|
| EFTPS (Treasury) | Pay federal taxes, including payroll deposits, at no charge | Computing the amounts and meeting each deposit date |
| SSA online W-2 filing | Create Forms W-2 online and submit them to the SSA; Publication 15 calls it free | Year-end totals, copies for employees and states |
| IRS publications and tables | Publication 15 for the rules, Publication 15-T for withholding | Every calculation, every payday |
Put together, that is free payroll: you, a spreadsheet and these services. It is a real option for one employee in one state; our guide to doing payroll yourself lists every filing and the penalties for late deposits.
Free months are promotions, not free plans
| Provider | What the page offers | Price after |
|---|---|---|
| Homebase Payroll | "6 Months Free: Payroll & Plus Plan"; the terms are not explained on the page | $49 a month plus $6 per active employee |
| OnPay | A "Get one month free" link, with no terms on the pricing page | $49 a month plus $6 per worker |
| Square Payroll | No free offer shown | $35 a month plus $6 per person paid |
A promotion can be worth taking, but budget for the price after it ends: for one employee, $49 plus $6 a month is $660 a year on Homebase Payroll.
Is there payroll software you buy once?
Not among the three services compared here: Square Payroll, Homebase Payroll and OnPay all charge every month. Whatever tool you use has to keep up with the IRS, which reissues Publication 15 for each year with that year's figures, such as the 2026 social security wage base of $184,500, and withholding follows Publication 15-T. Software bought once would be out of date by the next January unless someone updated its tax tables, so budget for that yearly update whether a vendor or you do it. If you want no subscription at all, the free government tools above plus a spreadsheet are the honest answer for a single employee.
Our pick
Square Payroll, the lowest full-service list price we recorded. For one employee that is $492 a year, and it files federal payroll taxes and state income and unemployment taxes for you. If you pay only contractors, its contractor-only plan charges $6 per person paid with no base fee; it does not file payroll taxes, because contractors are not on payroll. Mailed paper W-2s or 1099s cost $3 each; digital delivery is included.
- Pick Homebase Payroll instead if your hourly team already schedules in Homebase and the free months matter more to you than the list price.
- Pick OnPay instead if you have local payroll taxes: its pricing page says local filings are included.
- Stay fully free only with one employee, one state and a firm calendar of deposit dates.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- regulatorPublication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax GuideInternal Revenue Service · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: IRS Publication 15 (2026): 2026 social security rate of 6.2 percent each for employer and employee on wages up to 184,500 dollars, Medicare 1.45 percent each with no wage base, 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax withheld on wages over 200,000 dollars with no employer share, FUTA 6.0 percent on the first 7,000 dollars with up to a 5.4 percent credit (0.6 percent net), monthly depositor status for 50,000 dollars or less in the lookback period and for new employers' first calendar year, deposit by the 15th of the following month, the 100,000 dollar next-day rule for taxes accumulated within a deposit period, which also makes a monthly depositor semiweekly, late-deposit penalties of 2, 5, 10 and 15 percent (15 percent for amounts unpaid more than 10 days after the first notice or after notice and demand for immediate payment, whichever is earlier), the 100 percent trust fund recovery penalty on responsible persons who willfully fail to collect or pay over trust fund taxes, quarterly Form 941 and annual 940, employers notified by the IRS filing the annual Form 944 instead of Forms 941, W-2 duties, applying for an EIN online or with Form SS-4, Form I-9 and E-Verify for new hires, the 2026 Form W-4, reporting new employees (including rehires after 60 consecutive days of separation) to a state new hire registry where many states accept a copy of Form W-4, references to Publication 15-T withholding tables, EFTPS and SSA W-2 e-filing described as free, and the rule that an employer remains responsible when a third-party payer fails; it does not cover state taxes.Open source ↗
- officialEFTPS, Electronic Federal Tax Payment SystemU.S. Department of the Treasury · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Treasury's EFTPS page stating that the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System is provided free by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and can be used to pay any tax due to the IRS; it does not compute tax or file returns.Open source ↗
- vendorSquare Payroll official product siteSquare Payroll · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small hourly businesses evaluating payroll beside Square point-of-sale and team workflows.. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorHomebase Payroll official product siteHomebase Payroll · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Main Street employers comparing payroll with scheduling, time clocks, and hourly team operations.. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorOnPay official product siteOnPay · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small employers and accountant-managed businesses comparing a focused payroll and HR workflow.. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorSquare Payroll pricing pageSquare Payroll · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Square Payroll's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Full-service payroll plan ($35/month + $6 per person paid) and the page details recorded with it (Contractor-only payroll: $6 per person paid, no base fee), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorHomebase Payroll pricing pageHomebase Payroll · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Homebase Payroll's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Homebase Payroll plan ($49/month + $6 per active employee), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorOnPay pricing pageOnPay · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: OnPay's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Payroll Essentials plan ($49/month + $6 per worker), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorSquare Payroll pricing page, plan featuresSquare · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Square Payroll's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: full-service payroll at a monthly fee plus a per-person fee, contractor-only payroll per person paid with no base fee and without automated tax filings, Square's statement that it calculates, withholds and files all federal payroll taxes and files state income and unemployment taxes where applicable in each jurisdiction, digital W-2 and 1099 delivery, and an annual fee of $3 per employee or contractor for employers who opt in to mailed paper W-2s or 1099s; it does not name local taxes or Forms 941 and 940.Open source ↗
- vendorHomebase Payroll page, plan featuresHomebase · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Homebase's payroll page as read on October 27, 2026: a monthly price plus a per-active-employee fee, automated tax calculation, filing and payment, W-2s, 1099s and amendments included, availability in all 50 states and Washington D.C., and a six-months-free offer whose terms the page does not explain; it does not list which filings by jurisdiction.Open source ↗
- vendorOnPay pricing page, plan featuresOnPay · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: OnPay's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: Payroll Essentials at a base fee plus a per-worker fee, a one-month-free offer link without stated terms, and statements that W-2s, 1099s and year-end filings and federal, state and local tax filings are included; it does not state a filing guarantee.Open source ↗